1. Game Design
Introduction

2. Game Theory
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3. Questions What's your favorite video game? (now, ever)
What made/makes that game fun?
Does a game have to be fun?
What is fun?
What is a game?
Can a video game be "art"?

4. Why study game design? It's fun and interesting.
Might be in a one-person company or project
Be able to speak the same language as the designers
Be able to evaluate, contribute, advise
Research
Where else?

5. What would you learn? Why games work, Game design principles (what?)
Interaction models
Balance
Feedback
Motivation
Immersion
Design and Development cycle (how?)
Tools: rendering engines, game engines, prototyping tools

6. What is a game? What's the difference between . . . ? Toys Puzzles
Games

7. What is a game? What's the difference between . . . ? Toys
Just play, no rules or goal
Puzzles
A goal, but usually no rules (e.g. Rubik’s cube)
Games
Play, goal, rules

8. Play Participatory form of entertainment
Compare to books, theater, film, which are not interactive.
Pretending – the Magic Circle
Important even in a physical game like soccer. Why?
The magic circle comes into existence when players join the game and agree to abide by the rules.

9. Goal Also called the object of the game Might or not be achievable
Examples of games with unachievable goals?
Defined by the rules, is arbitrary
Must be nontrivial and present a challenge
Victory conditions
Game does not always end when victory conditions are achieved
Can specify loss conditions also (or instead)

10. Rules Definitions and instructions that players agree to accept
Semiotics--meaning and relationships between symbols
Gameplay--challenges and actions
Sequence of play
Goals
Termination
Metarules--exceptions or changes to rules

11. So, what is a game? Decision making Goals Opposition
Managing resources
Game tokens
Information

12. Decision making
Costikyan: "The thing that makes a game a game is the need to make decisions."
Tradeoffs

13. Goals
Costikyan: "If you have no goal, your decisions are meaningless."

14. Opposition Costikyan: "A game without struggle is a game that's dead."
How can you get the right level of difficulty?

15. Managing resources
Costikyan: "If the game has more than one 'resource,' decisions suddenly become more complex."
Tradeoffs
Decision increases one resource but decreases another.
Both resources are important in the game.

16. Game tokens
Anything the player directly manipulates: cards, pieces, character, etc.
Costikyan: "To give a player a sense that he controls his destiny, that he is playing a game, you need game tokens."

17. Information
Costikyan: "The interface must provide the player with relevant information. And he must have enough information to be able to make a sensible decision."
AI--It doesn't matter how smart your AI is if the player doesn't know what the AI is doing.
How do you give information to the player?

18. Making games fun Adams & Rollings
50% Avoiding errors--bad programming, bad music and sound, bad art, bad user-interfaces, bad game design. "Basic competence will get you up to average."
35% Tuning and polishing--attention to detail
10% Imaginative variations--level design
4% True design innovation--the game's original idea and subsequent creative decisions
1% An unpredictable, unananalyzable, unnamable quality--"luck, magic, or stardust"
Do you believe them?

19. Finding the fun factor Adams & Rollings
Gameplay comes first--give people fun things to do
Get a feature right or leave it out
Design around the player
Know your target audience
Abstract or automate parts that aren't fun
Be true to your vision
Strive for harmony, elegance, and beauty
How to become rich and famous . . .

20. The hierarchy of challenges Adams & Rollings
Complete the game
Finish a mission
Finish a sub-mission
Finish an atomic challenge
Player will usually be thinking about current atomic challenge.
Awareness of higher-level challenges creates anticipation.

21. Challenges
Victory conditions and atomic challenges are usually explicit.
Intermediate challenges are usually implicit.
Players get tired of just following instructions.
"The most interesting games offer multiple ways to win" -- Adams & Rollings, p. 284
More than one way to accomplish intermediate challenges
Capture the flag (p. 284): defensive approach, aggressive approach, stealth approach

22. Myths About Computer Game Design
Myth # 1: Computers have to play as good as possible
Myth # 2: Only programmers can design computer games
Myth # 3: Succesful games need deep storylines
Myth # 4: Computer graphics “make” a game

23. Myth # 1: Computers have to play as good as possible
You know what is an attack “Kung Fu” style?
Only 2 enemies are attacking at any point of time
The other “appear” busy
Same idea is implemented in many games

24. Myth # 2: Only programmers can design computer games
In the “old times” it was like that
Modern tools allow the design of “AI” behavior without need of a computer programmer
Attack ~E ~S
Chase E S D D E
Wander E ~E
Spawn D

25. Myth # 3: Successful games need deep Storylines (II)
Storyline: "Murderous aliens have landed in futuristic Los Angeles, and humans suddenly find themselves atop the endangered species list. The odds are a million-to-one, just the way Duke likes it!"
Duke Nukem 3d
Released in 1996
Crude humor
“That's gotta hurt”
Simplistic and predictable storyline

26. Myth # 4: Computer graphics “make” a game
Tale of two games:
Game # 2:
2D graphics
Turn-based
Graphics highlight: Lead designer appears in the game
Roles a dice to decide who wins combat
Game # 1:
Top-notch (for its time) 3D Graphics
Real-time
Dinosaurs!
“beautiful” people
“Realistic” physics encoded in game

27. Game # 1: some screenshots

28. Game # 2: Screenshot

29. Computer Game Design Class
Narrative - storyline
Game mechanics – rules of play
class
Concept art
sound
graphics

30. How do you design a good game?
Do a lot of research
Have a good team
Test, test, test
Prototypes (small, use all tools possible)
You can use some of the frameworks around:
MDA framework (this week’s labs)
Game balance, fit to an old model (e.g. rock, paper, scissors)
Read Tracy’s book (chapters 1-5)
There are several other good books and papers I can recommend

31. Games as Software
Code

32. Games as Software
Code
Process

33. Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements

34. Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules

35. Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules
Activity

36. Games as Software
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules
Activity
“Fun”

37. A Design Vocabulary
Code
Process
Requirements
Rules
Activity
“Fun”

38. A Design Vocabulary Mechanics Code Process Requirements Rules Activity
“Fun”

39. A Design Vocabulary
Mechanics
Dynamics
Process
Requirements
Game
“Fun”

40. A Design Vocabulary
Mechanics
Dynamics
Aesthetics